The test for performance-enhancing drugs and some drugs-of-abuse
are regularly administered on pre-fight samples of the athlete’s
urine in California.

Dodd was unwilling to divulge what substance caused the result,
pending further consultation with state doctors. He did state that
he hopes to have a statement after the CSAC’s lunch break later
this afternoon.

“I have it but I haven’t really reviewed it yet, it is a steroid
substance,” said Dodd.

On Twitter, Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times quoted Dodd as
saying that the test came back positive due to the presence of a
“natural steroid.” However, Dodd has since told Sherdog.com that he
doesn’t “believe it is a natural steroid.”

The commission, according to Dodd, first received notice of the
test result on or around Sept. 2, and took about two weeks to
re-confirm the result. This is standard operating procedure for the
regulatory body and explains the 41-day lag time between Sonnen’s
championship bout with Anderson
Silva at UFC
117 and his notice of testing positive.

Per commission protocol, Sonnen has 30 days to respond to the
notice and lodge an appeal of his $2,500 fine and year-long
suspension. He has not contacted the commission yet, but if he does
decide to challenge the result his hearing will most likely come
somewhere near the end of November or early December.

Dodd also informed Sherdog.com that the UFC, via vice-president
Marc Ratner, was informed that an unnamed fighter was flagged for a
positive test Saturday morning. He said Ratner confided that they
were already aware of Sonnen’s impending suspension.

This article was updated Tuesday at 1:10 a.m. ET to clarify that
Dodd’s “natural steroid” quote was posted on Twitter.